


Here We Are Again

by a_wild_moony



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Carolina and Wash are strictly platonic, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-10
Updated: 2015-08-10
Packaged: 2018-04-14 01:02:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4544130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_wild_moony/pseuds/a_wild_moony
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wash and Tucker used to be in a relationship, but due to Wash going into the army overseas, they broke it off. Now they meet as neighbors in the same apartment complex, and there's bound to be some unresolved feelings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The New Neighbor

There was a new tenant that had moved into the building a week ago. Wash had yet to see him. The door was always closed, but Wash had heard about the neighbor from his friends. He seemed nice, funny, and dropped innuendos too often. Apparently he had a kid that took after his father, except for the innuendos part.

Wash walked up the stairs to his apartment and froze at the end of the hall. The neighbor stood at his apartment, unlocking his door with his child at his side. The father said something funny to his son, and the boy laughed hysterically. 

Then the boy looked over to Wash, staring at him quizzically. His father followed his son’s gaze, and his mouth dropped open slightly. “Oh my god.  _Wash?”_

 

_Oh shit._  Wash didn’t know what to do; his mind was completely frozen, completely blank, and all he could do was stare at Tucker. Almost nothing had changed. Tucker still had his hair in a mixture of dreads and braids, and he was sporting a faded Pink Floyd t-shirt. His dark jeans were fashionably ripped at the knees. Wash could see the edges of a large scab. 

“Hey, Junior, why don’t you get inside. I’ll be right there.” Tucker began pushing his son through the doorway. The door closed, and they were left staring at each other.

Wash searched in his mind for something to say, but he was coming up blank. Everything had been said the week before Wash’d left for the army, and that was four years ago. He’d thought that they wouldn’t be able to have a steady relationship with him overseas, doing who knew what. Tucker had disagreed. He’d had relationships that were overseas and over continents, but Wash hadn’t believed him at the time. Wash had served his tour in Iraq and had come home with scars and nightmares. In that amount of time, Tucker had gone and gotten himself a kid. _  
_

Wash thought he’d start with that. “You… have a son.” he remarked, while taking some steps forward.

Tucker blinked. “Yeah.” he said, rocking on his heels with his hands in his pockets. He looked down at the floor and then back at Wash. “He’s adopted you know. I went to Africa for a few months.”

Wash raised an eyebrow. “Africa? What were you doing in Africa?” he asked.

“Overseas work helping out kids.” Tucker answered. He turned his head away from Wash. “I didn’t want to stay there anymore.”

There. Tucker said it so casually, but Wash knew what the place meant to him. There was the house that he and Tucker had rented a year into their relationship, the one where they thought they would spend the rest of their lives in. 

“Oh.” Wash ran his hand through his hair. “Well. You look fine.” Wash commented. Tucker looked at him, a sad smile on his lips. 

“You too Wash.” he said. Wash smirked to himself. His time in Iraq had certainly taken a toll on him, and he knew that he was not fine. Even without looking in a mirror, he knew there were dark shadows underneath his eyes, and a  scar on his jaw from a shrapnel blast. There were numerous scars on the back of his neck from when he’d tried to take his AI computer chip himself, though Wash would probably never tell Tucker now.

Wash ran his fingers through his hair nervously. “I know… we didn’t leave on the best of terms.”

“Damn right.”

Wash smiled softly. “Do you… feel like catching up? Maybe having some coffee together?” he asked quietly. His voice felt too loud in the small hallway. 

A flurry of emotions passed on Tucker’s face. Conflict, desire, denial. Then a grin. “I’d like that.” he answered.

“That makes both of us.”

 


	2. It's a Date

Wash bounced his leg nervously, making the table and his coffee shake with it. His coffee was cold, and had been for thirty minutes, since Wash had arrived early. It was a habit that started when he was in the army. None of the officers there had tolerated tardiness.

The door jingled open, and Wash looked up. It was not Tucker, but a couple bundled up in jackets and scarves to protect themselves from the cold outside Christmas lights and decorations were hung above the door and in the windows of the cafe, giving a festive feeling to the building. 

“You need anything honey?” a waitress asked. She was heavy set and looked like she’d spent too much time in the sun. Her skin was a dark almond color, almost like Tucker’s. Under her white apron, she wore a yellow t-shirt.

“No, I’m just waiting for a-” He couldn’t say friend. Tucker was definitely not a friend. “I’m just waiting for someone.”

The waitress smiled knowingly. “Alrighty.” She turned away just as the door opened again. This time, it was Tucker. He wore jeans, a faded turquoise scarf, and a brown winter coat. He sat in the chair across from Wash and gave him a handsome smile. 

“Hey.”

“Hi.”

Over the years that they had been apart, Wash had slowly begun to forget parts of Tucker. Like the color of his eyes, and how if Wash angled himself specifically, he could see the tips of Tucker’s tattoos on his neck. Wash tried to remember what they looked like, but they were only blurs in his mind. 

“Wash?” Tucker waved a hand in front of Wash’s face. He wore dark black and yellow finger-less gloves which were fraying at the tips. “You awake man?”

“Oh, sorry. I was just-” Tucker raised an eyebrow. “Nothing.” Wash put his hands around his cold coffee cup. “How you’ve been?”

“Great. Junior’s school is having a band concert tonight, and he has a solo in one of the songs. At age ten and already a prodigy.” he said proudly. Suddenly, his eyes lit up as if he was struck by an idea. “Hey, do you want to come? To the concert.”

Wash picked nervously at his chapped lips. He assumed that there would be a lot of people, and after the army, he grew nervous around crowds and loud noises. “No, I think I might sit this out. Sorry.”

Tucker’s face fell, but then he gave Wash a comforting smile. “Nah, it’s cool man. Maybe next time?” he asked. 

Wash did not want to disappoint him again by saying there might not be a next time.

“So…” Tucker said, attempting to change the subject. “What’d you do after you got back? How long were you in the army?” he asked.

Wash bit his top lip, tongue tracing over the chapped skin. He could hear the double meaning in Tucker’s words. “ _Did you go back? Did you think about me?”_  No and yes.

“I was did one tour in Iraq and then I got honorably discharged. Afterwards, I got a job as a bodyguard for a while, and now I teach self-defense.” Wash answered. 

The two talked about other things, like Tucker moving to the city. Then Tucker was asking Wash if he wanted to have lunch together. They did, and they talked. And talked. It was like before they started their relationship, when they were just getting to know each other. The hours passed, until Tucker glanced at his phone in the restaurant.

“I’m gonna have to go pick up Junior soon.” he said. He looked over to Wash. “Today was fun.”

“Yeah,” Wash agreed. “it was." 

Tucker stood up and looked like he was about to say something. He pursed his lips and then asked, "You sure you don’t want to come tonight?”

Wash smiled sadly. “No, I’m sure. I don’t do well around crowds anymore.” he answered.

“Alright, that’s cool.” Tucker said. Wash stood to follow him out, and they stood outside, a gust of wind blowing in their faces. Wash pulled his hat down over his ears. “Can I get a ride to the apartment?” Tucker asked.

“Sure.” They walked over to Wash’s car and hopped into their seats. The ride was silent except for Wash’s fingers drumming on the steering wheel. 

Wash parked in the parking garage beneath the apartment and locked his car. Tucker was already heading to the stairs and held the door open for Wash. They headed up the stairs in silence and went to their respective doors. Wash paused at his and turned to face Tucker.

“Hey.” Tucker turned to look at him. “Today was nice. I…” He didn’t know what to say to not make it awkward. “It was nice catching up.”

“Maybe we can do some more catching up?” Tucker asked.

Wash laughed. “I pretty much told you everything about what happened after I came back.” he said.

“No, dude, I know.” Tucker grinned. “I’m asking you on a date, Wash.”

“Oh.” Wash licked his lips. It stung where the skin was chapped. “Tucker, there’s a reason we broke up. It’s not going to work.”

“But you’re not going to the army again. Right?” Tucker argued. “You’re not going to be overseas.”

“No. I’m not.” Wash agreed. “But the guy you dated and the guy I am no are very different. It’s not going to work out.”

Tucker sighed angrily. “Look, I know you see scary stuff when you’re in the army. My dad was in the army, but he was fine! You’ll be fine, Wash.”

Wash gritted his teeth. "Me being in the army isn’t what I’m talking about.”

“Then what is the problem Wash?” Tucker asked impatiently, spreading out his arms. “Because you seem exactly the same to me.”

Wash closed his eyes and let out a sigh of frustration. He was not going to share anything just yet. Definitely not here, definitely not now. “I’m not going to tell you all my problems Tucker. You’re not my therapist.”

Tucker’s eyes widened slightly, and his arms dropped to the side.. “You have a therapist?”

Wash mentally kicked himself. “Goodbye Tucker.” He opened his apartment door, leaving a confused and annoyed Tucker in the hallway.

 


End file.
